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I’m Gen Z, and it’s no secret we prefer TikTok and Instagram over Facebook. With more and more of my friends and family leaving Facebook, I’ve decided it’s time to do the same. Before I take the plunge, here are six things I’m taking care of, and I’d suggest you do the same.
1Try Deactivating First
Before you make the decision to delete your Facebook account for good, consider whether a temporary break might work for you instead. If you think that might be the case,deactivating your Facebook accounttemporarily is a great option.
This would allow you to step back from Facebook without losing your memories or your friends and followers. This way, you can experience what it’s like to be away from the app, and decide if you truly want to commit to leaving for good.
If you choose to keep your Facebook account after deactivating, you can return without the hassle of setting up everything from scratch. However, if you delete your account permanently, all your data will be lost. Essentially, your account will no longer exist, and if you later decide you want to keep Facebook, you’ll have to start fresh.
You can deactivate your Facebook account by following the steps below:
You’ll still be able to use Messenger to stay in touch with friends and family after deactivating your account. However, any Pages you control will be deactivated until you reactivate your Facebook account. If you permanently delete your account, both your Messenger and any Pages you manage will also be deleted.
2Back Up Content You’d Like to Keep and Important Conversations
I post a lot on social media and have used my Facebook account to preserve my memories. If you’re anything like me and have hundreds of posts, ensure to take the time to save the pictures and videos you hold dear.
You can save images you’ve posted on Facebook to your camera roll by heading to theprofiletab and tapping your name at the top to open your account. TapPhotos, open an image, and then tap thethree horizontal dotsin the top-right corner of the screen. Simply selectSave photo.
To save a video, go to your Facebook profile and tapVideosinstead. Open the video you’d like to save, tap thethree horizontal dots, and selectDownload reelfrom the menu.
However, if you’d like to save more than individual images and videos, I recommenddownloading your entire Facebook history. This will give you a comprehensive file including your posts, messages, saved items and collections, stories, comments and reactions, and more.
You can download your information from Facebook by heading to theMenutab and tapping thesecurityicon. Then, tapSee more in Accounts Center>Your information and permissions > Download your information. Finally, tapDownload or transfer information, select your Facebook account (if your Instagram is linked), and follow the on-screen instructions.
3Notify Friends and Groups
My Facebook friends list is filled with extended family, teachers who’ve taught me over the years, and friends I’ve made along the way. While those I’m connected with on other social media platforms can still keep in touch, I think it’s important not to leave anyone wondering where I’ve disappeared to.
That’s why it’s a good idea to let your Facebook friends and any groups you regularly engage with know you’re stepping away, ensuring they know where to reach you. Instead of the hassle of texting each friend individually and risking leaving someone out, one of the simplest ways to do this is by posting a Facebook status or a story so everyone on your friend list is aware of your decision.
4Review Linked Apps and Services and Unlink Them
Linking my Facebook account with third-party apps like Spotify or games to log in with just a tap and bypassing the whole account creation process is a feature I’ve relied on a lot over the years.Facebook statesthat you’ll no longer be able to use Facebook Login for these accounts and may need to contact the respective app and websites to recover these accounts.
So unlinking these accounts before you bid farewell to Facebook is a smart move. You can do so by going to theprofiletab and tapping thesettingsicon in the top-right corner. Then, scroll down until you seeApps and websitesunderYour activity.
Enter your Facebook account credentials, and you’ll be able to see all the apps and websites linked to your Facebook account. You should go to these sites and apps and see if you can use an alternative login method that preserves your account data.
If you want to unlink an app on Facebook, simply tap the app you’d like to unlink, hitRemove, and then tapRemoveagain.
5Note Important Birthdays
While I’m not particularly proud to admit it, one of the primary reasons why I decided against deleting my Facebook account for so long is because I have the worst memory and tend to forget birthdays. It’s one thing to miss the birthday of a distant acquaintance, but when it’s someone I care about, I feel guilty for days. Facebook’s birthday reminders have frankly been my saving grace.
So, when I decided I’d be deleting my Facebook account, I decided to note down important birthdays I wanted to keep track of. There are plenty ofapps that can help you remember birthdays. However, since I rely on Google Calendar for my day-to-day scheduling, I added all the key birthdays to my calendar and set them as yearly recurring events, so I’ll get a notification every year.
Thankfully, you don’t need to dig through each friend’s profile to find their birthday. Just head to theHometab, tap theSearchicon at the top right, and type “Birthdays”. Select the first option that appears, and you’ll see a full list of your friends’ birthdays.
Now, just jot them down in whatever app or system you prefer!
6Remove Personal Information
Although deleting your Facebook account permanently should erase most of your personal information, wiping out your digital footprint is a step I’d recommend taking as a final farewell to Facebook. Before you delete your account entirely, make sure you take a moment to review your profile and remove any information that you wouldn’t want lingering around, like your contact details and email.
While Facebook has had its time, I’m noticing more and more peopledeleting their Facebook account, and I don’t blame them. If you’ve decided to join them, I’d highly recommend following all the steps I’ve mentioned above to avoid any hiccups in the future.
